Chapter 1
Twilight Seeks Help
8:54. The same as the last time she checked. Twilight Sparkle paced back and forth nervously as she awaited the arrival of her friend. The library was dark, the light from the four candles she’d lit dancing ominously on the walls. It was dark, but there was enough light to avoid bumping into something. This was no accident. She was nervous, and didn’t want her friend to see her face too clearly. She’d sent Spike to bed early so she’d have her privacy. 8:55. She went to her kitchen and absentmindedly poured herself a drink. About halfway through it, she realized now was probably not the best time for a drink.
The sudden rapping at the door startled her. 8:58. Her guest was two minutes early. Then again, you can’t expect somepony to arrive at the exact second arranged. She walked to the door and saw the blonde pony standing there, carrying a small lantern.
“Applejack!” Twilight exclaimed, “Thank you so much for coming! I know it was short notice, and it’s rather late, I wasn’t sure you’d be willing to come. Would you like a snack? Or a drink? How abou-“
“Woah, there,” Applejack interrupted, “Why you so nervous? I come over all the time.”
“Sorry,” Twilight said, starting to calm down a little, “I had some things I wanted to discuss, and I guess I am a little nervous.”
“Well, shoot, you ain’t gotta be nervous around me. We’re friends, you can talk to me about anything!” Applejack responded. Twilight found this reaction comforting. That was part of the reason she’d asked Applejack, out of all of her friends, to come over. She felt she’d be the easiest to talk to about such an important issue. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie are great friends, but sometimes they have trouble taking things seriously. Fluttershy, meanwhile, can be so eager to please that she’d just agree with whatever Twilight said, not being the most helpful. She could have asked Rarity, but she’d already asked Applejack, so what’s done is done.
“OK. Let’s go sit down. This is going to take a while, so it would be best if we made ourselves comfortable.” Twilight and her friend made their way to a table near the back wall of the library. Twilight carried her drink with her, and poured one for Applejack, after asking again if she wanted anything.
“OK, here goes,” Twilight started, feeling nervous again. She took a sip of her drink to calm her nerves. “As you know, when I lived in Canterlot, I didn’t have any friends.” Applejack looked at her with slight worry, but said nothing. She simply nodded. Twilight continued, “Well, when Shining joined the Royal Guard, I didn’t really have anyone to talk to. I didn’t mind at first, but eventually, my studies started getting to me. The stress was hard to bear, and with nopony to talk to, I started… um… I started… drinking.”
Applejack looked concerned, “Twilight, are you trying to say you have a drinking problem?”
“NO! Well, I mean, yes. Well, maybe. It’s not as bad as it sounds! I think,” The nervousness had returned. But she’d gotten over the first big hurdle. Everything else should be easy. Should, but it was proving to be harder than she expected to continue. “Well, there were times when it was bad. Sometimes I couldn’t remember if I’d gone to sleep of if I’d passed out. I drank every night. I always made sure to wait for Spike to go to sleep, and never drank around him, but I still drank. But that was before I came to Ponyville. When I came here, with friends, I found myself getting the urge to drink less and less often.”
Applejack’s concern was still clearly visible on her face. She looked down at the glasses she and Twilight were drinking from, “Something tells me you didn’t ask me over tonight to tell me we got you to quit drinking.”
“Well, I thought I had everything under control, but last night, I think I passed out again. The stress of everything that’s happened lately. The changelings, the Crystal Ponies, Trixie. It all just added up.” Twilight was on the verge of tears now. “I know what drinking can do to a pony. I’ve heard the stories. I’ve heard how it can make you act like somepony else. I’m afraid of what could happen. I’m afraid of hurting one of you.” She and her friend were silent. She tried to look at the clock again, but from where she was sitting, it was too dark to see it. Finally, Applejack broke the silence.
“Well, Twilight. You know I ain’t got a problem with drinkin’, so long as it’s under control. Parties and such. But if you ever think you need to drink at a time that might be improper, just remember. You can always come to me instead. And not just me, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, all of us, we’re all there for you. You know we love you, and we don’t want to see you hurt yourself, either.”
“Oh! Can you please not tell them? It was hard enough to tell you, I’m just not ready for everypony to know. I mean, I’ll tell them eventually, but not yet.”
“Well,” AJ responded, “I’m not crazy about keeping it from them, but as long as you promise to open up to them eventually, I can give you my word not to say anything.”
“Thank you,” Twilight replied. No longer on the verge, she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks, “This really means a lot to me. Before you go, there is one thing I’d like to ask of you.”
“Anything, Sugarcube,” Applejack replied. She sincerely wanted to help her friend in any way she could. While she could see the problem wasn’t as serious as Twilight thought, she knew it would be best to help her to make sure it never became that serious.
“Well, I have this box, here,” As she said that, her horn began to glow. A matching glow came from around the corner, landing on the table and revealing itself to be around a small crate with several bottles inside, “This is all the alcohol I have. Could you take it with you? You can keep it, give it away, or throw it out. I don’t care what you do with it. I just want it gone.”
“Sure thing. I’ll give it to Pinkie. She can put it to good use in the right way. A party.”
“Thank you. But I think I’ll skip that party. I think the best thing to do might be to stop drinking at all for a little while.”
“Well, if that’s how you feel, I’ll support you. I’d hate to see this become something more serious. Just take things at your own pace and don't push yourself”
“I have one more thing to ask. Could you bring the girls here tomorrow? I think you’re right, it would be best if they knew, too. And now that you know, I think it’ll be easier to tell them, too.”
“No problem. Well, goodnight.” Applejack bowed her head and started walking to the door. Twilight closed the door behind her. She blew out all but one of her candles, grabbed it and her drink and walked up the stairs. She set the candle on her nightstand and looked at her glass. It was still about one quarter full. She glanced over at Spike, asleep in his bed. She’d never hurt him in the past, and she knew she wanted to keep it that way. She walked over to the window, opened it, and poured what remained of the drink to the ground. With the help of her friends, she was going to have a fresh start, dealing with her stress in a more healthy way. Not wanting to wake Spike, her horn began to glow as she picked up a quill and piece of parchment.
“Dear Princess Celestia. I have known for a while now the magic that friendship brings. However, I had never realized until recently how much trouble a lack of friendship can bring. I had fallen into a bad habit when I was alone, and I see now how my friends can, and will, help me through it. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
She rolled the letter up, and set it on her nightstand. She’d have Spike send it away in the morning. It will be the morning in which she gets her fresh start, with the help of her dear friends. But now, it’s time to sleep.